Auction nest Wednesday at Naas RacecourseA few nuggets among them Jimeen et alMAYBE we can put up some valuations and see how accurately we can predict the marketLeopardstownCurraghGalwayListowelNavanNaasGowranRoscommonFairyhouseTramorePunchestownBallinrobeClonmeli predict a total sale of 450K

My prediction and I’m no judge of this kind of stuff, is that leopardstown will make more than all the rest of them put together. If there is such a thing as a valuable pitch in Ireland, this is the one.My guesses would be Leopardstown 400Curragh 100Galway 75Listowel 25Navan 0-5 Naas 15Gowran 5-10Roscommon 0-5Fairyhouse 0-5Tramore 0Punchestown 35-40Ballinrobe and Clonmel not worth a jellytot

My prediction and I’m no judge of this kind of stuff, is that leopardstown will make more than all the rest of them put together. If there is such a thing as a valuable pitch in Ireland, this is the one.My guesses would be Leopardstown 400Curragh

i have no idea about the value of pitches over there but from what i have seen with the exception of leopardstown biz is very poor {not been to galway } the amounts you put next to each track i dont understand for example leopardstown 400 and gowran 5-10 what are they please ?

jimeeni have no idea about the value of pitches over there but from what i have seen with the exception of leopardstown biz is very poor {not been to galway } the amounts you put next to each track i dont understand for example leopardstown 400 and g

It’s a flagship pitch foxy , it may not be for sale ever again. It’s a bit like a painting, there are people who will give millions for them , and have them handing up on the wall at home. The real value they get out of them is the ability to tell their friends who painted it and how much it cost .The same will apply here, whoever buys it will want to be sticking their chest out and telling anyone who will listen that they own number 1 in leopardstown

It’s a flagship pitch foxy , it may not be for sale ever again. It’s a bit like a painting, there are people who will give millions for them , and have them handing up on the wall at home. The real value they get out of them is the ability to tel

jimeenthanks for posting an honest viewi agree Leopardstown is a trophy pitch and might even attract UK buyers ,The Curragh is a tricky one as there is no guarantee that the ring will go back in as it was , he had number 1 but if there is a redraw there are 15 with same seniority , i therefore valued it a bit lessNavan been a NUMBER 1 Corner pitch i reckon could make 20 and Naas roughly the samePtown is another hard one to value and might attract an English player but outside the festival is deadBrobe Clonmel and Tramore are not worth a lucky bag indeedbe interesting surely i think the lesser pitches will make more than they are worth

jimeenthanks for posting an honest viewi agree Leopardstown is a trophy pitch and might even attract UK buyers ,The Curragh is a tricky one as there is no guarantee that the ring will go back in as it was , he had number 1 but if there is a redraw th

Doesn't sound like the worst investment in the world to me at 400k, its the best track in Ireland by a mile and has all of the serious races. Massive cachet as well as mentioned. Anybody would be proud to have it.

I remember reading about JP's property fella Brooks. I'm sure the guy has a very diversified portfolio or whatever (no expert here), but I'm nearly sure I read the only serious property investments he made were in London, Paris and New York, on the best streets and avenues. Would it follow the if you'd the borrowing power or buying power to have pitches at Leopardstown, Ascot, Newmarket, York and Cheltenham, you can't help but make money over time unless you behave stupidly?

here's a curveball, Is there a scenario foreseeable where the government sub is pulled, RUK drive ATR off the scene and HRI get done up on the next TV deal making a load of the smaller tracks nonviable ultimately forcing closures. Its only TV money keeping them going really.

Could we have a Hong Kong like scenario where we only have the big tracks like the Curragh and Leopardstown as well as your Galways and Killarney for the piss up crowd? Could this happen? Would it be better? Have 4 or 5 good tracks with proper facilities that racing could draw in the transient casual sports fan and the corporate crowd to a greater extent.

I have to say, I much prefer the look and production values of good UK racing. Everything we do looks 2 bob even though we've the best horses, trainers, jockeys and staff. 60,000 at Cheltenham on Gold Cup Friday, it looked important; the facilities and TV production were in line with the importance of the event. The Curragh looks like a field, as does Punchestown. It makes what is happening on the track look 2 bob. That's a problem.

Doesn't sound like the worst investment in the world to me at 400k, its the best track in Ireland by a mile and has all of the serious races. Massive cachet as well as mentioned. Anybody would be proud to have it. I remember reading about JP's prop

Neill, The window in one of the stands has been broke for the last 3yrs and nothing done about it either at Punchestown, the little press box were I stand still has my tea cups from last years festival still proudly on display...

Neill, The window in one of the stands has been broke for the last 3yrs and nothing done about it either at Punchestown, the little press box were I stand still has my tea cups from last years festival still proudly on display...

There is simply no joined up thinking about the game in general here. Compare the cost of the Curragh redevelopment yet it looks as if a bookies pitch there is of questionable value. Are we simply building a more comfortable club for the luvvies?

The AIR is an entirely independent body and within that they have members who do not grant access to their finances. I wonder why? The last in-house report on the state of the racecourses told us "we're doing very well thank you" and it is still run by a dinosaur of the old Racing Board and how many centuries ago was that in situ? The deal with RUK is reportedly worth €40m annually and yet you get pictures from racecourses that are completely sub-standard. Unless something unforeseen happens, its hard to see that munificence continuing for much longer with the risk of "irrelevance" attaching to Irish Racing now that its sleeping with a channel branded "RacingUK".

One of the more remarkable utterances in recent times was Dermot Cantillon's plea for a Group One to be awarded to Naas as a progressive and metropolitan track and he felt the need to air this view in public as obviously nothing was possible behind the scenes. This is a guy who has held all the right positions in Irish Racing (HRI. Tote, ITBA etc.), has married into bloodstock royalty (and Turf Club lineage) yet the show is so sclerotic that nothing can be achieved by the progressives. (Last year's ICW tells you all you need to know on that front.)

To address your points: the industry will always be funded by the exchequer-its inevitable with so many rural jobs at stake, is how the spin would go. But have we far too many racecourses and too much racing? If it is a sport run for the enthusiast we clearly do. If it is an industry that keeps trainers in business and injects cash into small economies then it can be justified in a roundabout way with Finance satisfied that betting tax largely pays for the subvention in any event.

Finally, our own version of racing oligarchs, whilst dominating plenty to their own hobby and enjoyment, manage to hoover up most of the grant and this seems acceptable to most whilst the romance is virtually entirely dead. A son of a former Taoiseach is now being projected as "the little man" - plus ca change.

interesting points neill.There is simply no joined up thinking about the game in general here. Compare the cost of the Curragh redevelopment yet it looks as if a bookies pitch there is of questionable value. Are we simply building a more comfortable

Super stuff Royal Academy, realistically, I would agree with all of it. The Presenting Percy stuff even got me and that is the state we are in. It was just nice to see colours not part of one of the big ranches, and with my sporting hat on, I think Davy is a genius. I also found the way PP was campaigned interesting. It was beautiful training.

The idea of Naas getting a group 1, just sums up everything that is wrong with Irish racing in the sense of it being run for those operating within it.

Its frustrating because Irish racing is a brilliant product in a sporting sense, better than anywhere else in the world in a sporting sense. Whatever about quiet ones and hooking horses. I think one can assume a basic competence about 90% of Irish horse people, that they are operating to a basic plan and they know what they are doing. There is a post from a poster called Domino about a potential touch in Wolverhampton, its something that I don't think would happen here, because the people involved here are more skilled and know better.

Jamie Moore getting done the other day, because he is bang average and hadn't the skill to accomplish what he was trying to do. There are probably 100 lads in Ireland that could've done that job! The stuff at the gates notwithstanding, the horse people here are brilliant.

Super stuff Royal Academy, realistically, I would agree with all of it. The Presenting Percy stuff even got me and that is the state we are in. It was just nice to see colours not part of one of the big ranches, and with my sporting hat on, I think

Workrider, as a guy that goes, would you think 4 or 5 premium tracks with the ability to watch the racing in comfort would outweigh the plusses of the rich variety of courses we enjoy at the moment? I could see the pluses. I'm local and wouldn't go near Limerick racecourse, soulless; Mallow, no interest, Junction, middle of nowhere. I've been to Thurles and enjoyed it for its character, but its on the way out.

Workrider, as a guy that goes, would you think 4 or 5 premium tracks with the ability to watch the racing in comfort would outweigh the plusses of the rich variety of courses we enjoy at the moment? I could see the pluses. I'm local and wouldn't go n

Sadly Neill d , I love the old style courses, I was in Limerick twice this week, Navan today,Thurles tomorrow , and Naas Sun God willing, most courses have only a handful of people most days, There will come a time when people will say enough is enough, hopefully its not anytime soon. Irish racing has always been about the small guy taken on the big fella, that's why you have so many trainers who are struggling but wont give in, its simply in their blood. I would hate to see us end up like the U.S. Months on end of the same horses running over the same distance on the same course, hardly something to get excited about, I agree with R.A. on most of his points though,self same people getting more of the pie, as I have alluded to many times before, the Curragh will be a white Elephant paid for by the taxpayer to be enjoyed by the chosen few,and finally owned by them!...

Sadly Neill d , I love the old style courses, I was in Limerick twice this week, Navan today,Thurles tomorrow , and Naas Sun God willing, most courses have only a handful of people most days, There will come a time when people will say enough is enou

not working but going to the craven meeting workrider ,exeter is not a good viewing track however there are some steps by the last fence which is worth watching a couple of races from,bath is a great town well worth the visit although its quite a way from the racecourse.

not working but going to the craven meeting workrider ,exeter is not a good viewing track however there are some steps by the last fence which is worth watching a couple of races from,bath is a great town well worth the visit although its quite a way

Cheers,never been to Ireland but amazing that a guy like Power could actually have pitches which were absolutely worthless,even really poor pitches in the UK fetch a couple of hundred normally.Fairyhouse must be surprisingly poor?

Cheers,never been to Ireland but amazing that a guy like Power could actually have pitches which were absolutely worthless,even really poor pitches in the UK fetch a couple of hundred normally.Fairyhouse must be surprisingly poor?

The Fairyhouse ring has changed utterly last 20 years. That rails pitch looks the loneliest bleakest spot on the racecourse & totally isolated. Very surprised to see Starsports acquiring Curragh for that amount. In general UK firms have'nt lasted too long and that was in better times.

The Fairyhouse ring has changed utterly last 20 years. That rails pitch looks the loneliest bleakest spot on the racecourse & totally isolated. Very surprised to see Starsports acquiring Curragh for that amount. In general UK firms have'nt lasted too

One of the problems ribero is you pay for the season up front if that was the case over here nobody would pay for say 200 for 65 at Newcastle which would be fine for 3 days but when you have to pull it up for the whole season it’s not so appealing.

Can’t comment on Galway as I have not been to the festival but I am surprised at what some of the pitches have brought.

One of the problems ribero is you pay for the season up front if that was the case over here nobody would pay for say 200 for 65 at Newcastle which would be fine for 3 days but when you have to pull it up for the whole season it’s not so appealing.

Re what they're worth,don't know too much about Ascot,does it get you into an area anywhere? doubt there will be much change out of 200 for York (whoever buys it will presumably use it go around the corner with the Two Percenters),Cheltenham I would guess about 120.

Re what they're worth,don't know too much about Ascot,does it get you into an area anywhere? doubt there will be much change out of 200 for York (whoever buys it will presumably use it go around the corner with the Two Percenters),Cheltenham I would

the values at cheltenham are going through the roof ribero that might bring more,royal ascot gets you a move up but i dont think its gets you in a knew area,theres another one ascot off rails 14,pick 20 is up for £24,000

the values at cheltenham are going through the roof ribero that might bring more,royal ascot gets you a move up but i dont think its gets you in a knew area,theres another one ascot off rails 14,pick 20 is up for £24,000